Nixed brew; who needs doors

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-The mayor started the show by proclamating his face off. Seven young men made Eagle Scout, World Water Day will be recognized by Jackson on March 22, and it’s ‘boom-boom, out go the lights’ on the 29th. Mayor Mark Barron is asking all Jackson residents to participate in Earth Hour by turning off their lights for one hour beginning at 8 p.m.

The Jaycees service to the community is without question but fundraising through alcohol sales is a questionable practice during Hill Climb weekend, according to police chief Dan Zivkovich. The chief recommended the council deny the Jaycees malt beverage permit to sell beer at the Freestyle Snowmobile event to be held at the fairgrounds both Friday and Saturday night.

Jaycee Doug English said people will BYOB if denied the chance to purchase alcohol. Last year’s event drew nearly 2,000 beer-starved bubbleheads. Chief Dan preferred to let the high-octane sledhead crowd “sober up” for a few hours at the show before heading to the bars to fight cowboys. The permit was denied by a 4-1 vote with only Abe Tabatabai ready to tap a keg for the Jaycees.

Bulbout in, doors out
All eyes were on the bulbout at the corner of Jackson and Pearl. That miserable intersection where no West Pearl traffic will cut anyone a break trying to sneak into the flow from South Jackson Street, may be headed for a four-way stop sign in the future, but a bulbout, everyone agreed, would alleviate many flow issues there.
Engineer Holly Pratt had the council so zeroed in on the mesmerizing bulbout that hardly anyone noticed the 30,342 s.f. development behind it. Melissa Turley was the first councilperson to wonder out loud why the affordable unit dwellers in the PMD were getting shafted.

“Is there a reason there are no windows in the bedrooms of the affordable units?” she asked. Architect Megan Powers explained some bedrooms, affordable and market rate, used “borrowed light” from the living room.

“Is there a reason for a three-bedroom affordable unit instead of two one-bedrooms?” Turley asked. Powers explained that she was working under the assumption that the Housing Authority wanted a good variety of units and there were already one-bedrooms designed.

And what about these double doors, Turley quizzed, referring to a set of doors that seemed to separate the paying residents from the undesirables. The councilwoman claimed they smacked of segregation. “As someone who lives in affordable housing, I have pride in where I live,” she said. “I would not feel great about where I lived if I had to drive home and see a sign saying ‘you are now entering affordable housing area.’”

Powers countered that the doors aided in the unique air-heat-cool system which relied on sun angles and stuff but banter between the council and the applicant David Neville seemed to confirm Turley’s accusation that the doors were meant to keep the out the riff-raff. Tabatabai agreed it sounded like segregation and Obringer added, “We always have looked at employee or affordable housing to be of the same quality as the market rate units. You can’t tell them apart. So what’s the point of putting up the doors to keep people from going through unless we are keeping them from something?”

“The affordable units are very transient in nature as opposed to residents paying full price to live here,” Neville stated. “Besides, the doors are not locked.”
“Then what is the purpose of the double doors?” demanded the Mayor.
Neville tried to say they served as fire doors until one of his design crew admitted they were not. “It’s a noise and circulation issue,” was the next answer.
“So you don’t want affordable housing people walking down those halls?”
“They’ll have their own staircase,” Neville said, enthusiastically.

The council eventually passed the project 3-2, with Tabatabai (improper use of PMD) and Lenz (inadequate pedestrian realm) against, under the condition that the double doors were axed. Construction on the bulbout is expected to shut down Pearl Street for at least three weeks when the project begins this spring or fall.

In other business
Scott Sheppard claimed he was a bit unprepared for his visit with the planning commission when they shot his development down on a 6-1 vote. Staff recommended the council do the same. Sheppard’s try on an amendment to the PMUD at 555-567 Cache Creek Drive was also rejected by the council by unanimous vote.

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Nixed brew; who needs doors | Planet JH News Article: Council Chronicles

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